Political Correctness Going Mad Yet Again

It seems that political correctness has taken yet another step toward insanity. As reported last week by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, students in the Rockwood School District are being taught an alternative to the calendar designations of B.C. (Before Christ)and A.D. (Anno Domini, Latin for “in the year of the Lord.”)

Dean Mandis, a father of two students in the Rockwood School District (also the school district of my children) addressed the district’s school board last week regarding his concerns that his daaughter was being taught the concepts of B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era) as alternatives to the dating system that has been in place for HUNDREDS OF CENTURIES!

“Introducing B.C.E./C.E. in conjunction with B.C./A.D. in the classroom is to deny the historical basis of the dating system and ultimately leads to confusion,” Mandis told the board. Mandis said this teacher’s decision was “irresponsible” and possibly “a dangerous and slippery slope.” (quoted from Tim Townsend’s article in the Post and on stltoday.com.)

Apparently, according to a source in the article, the movement to use C.E. and B.C.E. in western academia began in the 1980s. When something similar happened in Kentucky in 2006, Christians fought it and the effort to use the new dating system disappeared. Gotta hand it to you, KY! (that’s for my husband and his relatives.)

Not surprisingly, the same textbook companies that have been re-writing history for the last few decades to make it more politically correct and less offensive are at least partially to blame for this effort. Craig Larson, Rockwood School District superintendent, wrote this explanation on his blog:

“Within the last 10-15 years, CE/BCE has started to appear in student textbooks, usually along with AD/BC and sometimes with just one or the other mentioned. Teachers make sure that students are aware of both designations so they are literate when they encounter either notation.”

I understand the textbook companies desire to sell textbooks. When I was a newspaper reporter, people used to accuse us of writing things “just to sell newspapers.” I’d say, “We need to sell newspapers, folks. This isn’t a not-for-profit operation.” But that didn’t mean we had license to write things that were false. I understand that you can probably sell more textbooks if your books are vanilla enough to not offend ANYONE, that doesn’t make them accurate.

I’ll never forget when my oldest came home from kindergarten telling me that the pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving to thank the Native Americans (see, I can be PC) for helping them survive in the new country. Seriously? While the pilgrims may very well have owed a debt of gratitude to any Native Americans who helped them learn to live in this untame land, it was NOT the Indians who they were thanking that first Thanksgiving. Still, when I investigated, that was the message of the book my daughter’s teacher was reading to her class. No mention of thanking God on Thanksgiving — just the natives.

As Larson pointed out, Rockwood School District doesn’t write textbooks, and the district has a responsibility to help our students understand dates in any way they may be presented. But I’m with Mandis — it’s a slippery slope. I think the district should reject any textbooks that teach an inaccurate history of Thanksgiving, and then the textbook companies won’t print falsities about that holiday.

Our dating system shouldn’t offend anyone. B.C. doesn’t stand for “Before Christ, the one true God, Son of Man, Risen Savior.” And the newer system of dating doesn’t change anything — the calendar is still measured in terms of the birth of Jesus Christ. So let’s stop erasing God from our history. Larson says the school district doesn’t have a “policy” on dates.

Maybe we should have a policy and that policy should be that we will continue to teach our children the principles upon which this country was founded in regard to everything, including the dating system. If you are a Rockwood parent and you feel strongly about this, a group of parents have started a petition on the topic. You can sign it here.

Don’t Miss This Free Family Play Date!

If you’re looking for fun and FREE ways to entertain your kids this fall, you need add the Family Play Date to your calendar on Oct. 3.

This fun-filled event at the St. Charles Convention Center will have activities to entertain children ages 8-months to 8-years-old, and it’s completely free (including free parking). The event is presented by Parents as Teachers.

One of the featured exhibits is BLOCK Fest, a hands-on block-building extravaganza. We all know kids love playing with blocks, and BLOCK Fest takes that activitiy to a new level. What you may not know is that playing with blocks helps children develop early math, science and literacy skills in a fun, interactive way. (I already knew that because I participate in Parents as Teachers, and my parent educator is always sharing that kind of useful information with me. If you have kids age 3 or under and you’re not already participating in PAT, you should check into the program.)

In addition to BLOCK Fest, there will be dozens of other activities for your kids to enjoy at the Play Date. Exhibitors include Abra-Kid Abra, Gymboree Play and Music, Magic House and Vetta Sports, plus many more.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., so come early and wear those kids out — maybe you’ll get a nap out of the deal, too. Concessions are available if you want to stay all day. For more information, including directions to the St. Charles Convention Center, go here.

Let’s Do Spelling Tests, Not Obama Politics in School

UPDATED 9/4/09 2:45 P.M. (see below)

Next Tuesday, President Obama plans to use part of the school day to address our nation’s children via a “Back to School” message. According to the White House, the purpose of this message will be to challenge students to work hard, set goals and take responsibility for learning.  But like a lot of conservatives, I suspect the speech has a much more pointed agenda — like indoctrinating our children to his socialist way of thinking.

Perhaps my cynicism about the speech stems from the “shared responsibility and commitment” language. Perhaps it comes from the fact that he’s trying to socialize our health care. Perhaps I’m just paranoid. Regardless, I prefer to do the teaching about politics and shared responsibility. I’d like my kids to stick to the basic academic subjects at school, like spelling tests.

The White House is encouraging school districts across the nation to take the time to watch the speech, and have even thoughtfully provided activities and questions to use after the speech. Check out the Menu of Classroom Activities for Pre-K through 6th Grade.  Here are some of the questions:

What is the president trying to tell me? What is the president asking me to do?
What new ideas and actions is the president challenging me to think about?  What specific job is he asking me to do? Is he asking anything of anyone else? Teachers? Principals? Parents? The American people?

He’s asking us to rubber-stamp his ideas on health care, banking, Wall Street, taxes, foreign policy and the environment. And he’s brilliant because he’s trying to get our kids on board. We need to be smarter.

I haven’t heard whether my school district will be taking the time to watch this speech. If it does, my son will be going out to lunch with me during that time. Perhaps we’ll practice his spelling.

————

Apparently, the White House is back-tracking a little bit on the President’s plan to request help from students. Check out this article.

Also, I contacted my son’s school principal and here is part of her response regarding whether the President’s address will be shown to students:

“As a district there is no district wide expectation that we are expecting all teachers to have students view this broadcast in their classrooms.  If a teacher feels it is appropriate for their class and curricular objectives, they may have student watch the broadcast although at (school name removed) we have agreed that we would tape it first and preview the contents prior to a class showing.  We recognize that there is historical value since this is the first time a President has publically addressed students.  As with all external resources to our curriculum, teachers should decide how participation and use of the source contributes to the learning and achievement of our curriculum objectives according to Board Policy.  The RSD curriculum is objective, non-partisan and non-sectarian.  We do not endorse candidates, platforms, or parties.  RSD does respect the office of the Presidency and the President’s position of the leader of the nation.  All teachers have been asked to consider the curriculum, knowledge, maturity, and competence of the class when making a decision about the use of controversial issues as this address may be considered by many.  Teachers at (school name removed) will offer alternate activities if they do determine this is a good resource and connects to their grade level curriculum.  Teachers will also inform parents in advance of their decision to view this address.”

No More Spelling Tests?!

I attended curriculum night at my son’s elementary school last week and was surprised and alarmed to hear his teacher’s answer to a parent’s question about spelling tests.

Parent: “What day will the spelling tests be?”

Teacher: “We won’t be doing spelling tests. Rockwood has mandated that spelling tests be eliminated by next year, and many teachers are opting to phase them out this year.”

What!!!??

The teacher went on to explain that:

• Spelling will be graded and assessed as part of the students’ everyday work.
• Many students simply memorize the words for the spelling test, but continue to spell the very same words incorrectly on everyday written work.
• Rockwood has research to indicate that weekly spelling tests do not improve students’ spelling mastery skills (or something to that effect).

As I looked around the room, these are the reactions I interpreted from the looks on the faces of other parents:

• Many were surprised, like me, and hadn’t heard this information.
• Many were displeased, like me.
• Some were nodding in agreement.
• Some smirked. I’m not sure whether they were smirking because they were thinking, “This is so typical” or “I knew it” or “This is yet another example of the dumbing down of America” or something else. I have yet to master mind-reading, I guess.

When I got home, I fired off an email to the Associate Superintendent for School Leadership and Curriculum for the Rockwood School District, Dr. Scott Spurgeon, inquiring about the mandated elimination of spelling tests. Within 24 hours, I received an informative email from Kathy Ryan,  Curriculum Coordinator, Language Arts K-12. (Note: this is one of the many things I love about our school district — administrators are not only accessible, but they respond quickly to parent inquiries.)

Ms. Ryan shared the following information with me:

1. The Rockwood Curriculum states that assessment of spelling should take place primarily through each student’s writing.
2. Weekly tests are not required.
3. In order to be consistent in all buildings and for all children, the district has determined that spelling pre- and post-tests will be discontinued during the 2010-2011 school year.
4. Research on writing asserts that students need more time for authentic writing tasks, and spelling pre- and post-tests take nearly an hour of instructional time each week.
5. Dozens of elementary teachers field-tested this approach during the last school year and found that spelling ability did not diminish, but student willingness to check for spelling errors in all tasks increased.
6. Beginning in the 2010-2011 school year, teachers will give a spelling inventory test at the beginning and end of each year to identify strengths and weaknesses so instruction can be designed to meet student needs.

“We believe that this change in spelling assessment practices will allow students more time to study words and more time to develop spelling through writing,” Ms. Ryan wrote.

Ms. Ryan also shared with me some of the research upon which this decision was based. I won’t quote all of it now, but I will say it looks solid. If you would like to see this document, email me and I’ll forward you a copy.

HOWEVER, I’m still bothered by the idea of no spelling tests. Spelling tests have worked for decades. They’re part of the BASICS! I think the new approach of assessing spelling in daily writing is a great idea. In a school district with high standards like Rockwood, a student should not be able to get an A on his/her weekly spelling tests, only to then misspell the same words in daily writing assignments. But I don’t think the time required for weekly spelling tests is wasted time. According to the “spelling letter” that was shared with parents, weekly spelling pre- and post-tests take about 40-50 minutes and that time can be put to better use for writing instruction and practice. Seriously? I’ll bet with a little effort, we could identify 40-50 minutes in the elementary school’s weekly schedule that could be used for those spelling tests without taking away from writing instruction or practice — i.e. extra recesses, assemblies to motivate for fund-raisers, “Pickle-puppet” sessions that cover topics probably best addressed at home.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my school district and I’m very impressed with the assessments on standardized tests and the ACT and SAT. I’m a huge fan of my son’s elementary school and believe the teachers and the principal there are doing an amazing job educating our students. Plus, I’m sure the district had multiple “committee/parent” meetings before making this decision, and I somehow missed the process while staying busy in my duties as a mom, part-time writer, etc. But I am alarmed by the trend away from some of the more basic learning techniques that have worked for so long. Don’t even get me started on the way my son is taught to add, subtract, multiply and do long division. That’s a whole other post.

At the very minimum, a weekly spelling test requires these elementary students to practice the skill of studying and memorization. I know that memorization isn’t the best learning technique or skill in most cases or in most subjects. I also acknowledge that learning spelling patterns and principles is vitally important and probably more effective in creating life-long good spellers and solid writers. However, memorization IS a skill and learning technique that we all use everyday. And studying for a weekly test IS a valuable practice. I vote that we bring back weekly spelling tests, and when I mentioned this last week on Facebook, it seems there were lots of other parents who felt the same way. What are your thoughts on the topic?

Track Meet

My son made his school’s track team a few weeks ago in the long jump and the 4×50 Relay. I don’t know if that’s correct ‘track’ lingo because I’m not a track mom at this point. I suspect I may become a ‘track mom when he gets to high school because I think he’s a fast runner and that might be a sport that interests him, but there really isn’t much opportunity to be a track mom when there is only one track meet per year.

Anyway, here is the video compilation of his performance. I was very proud.

Mayathon

I think “Mayathon” is the perfect moniker for the month of May. Having run two marathons, I can speak with some authority when I say the month resembles an endurance event.

First you have the school stuff:

• End of the year strings concerts
• End of the year celebrations
• Field Day
• Six Flags day (for which my daughter remembered at the last minute that I had to sign the field trip form IN PERSON at the school with an eyewitness and my driver’s license. Next thing you know, you’ll need a notary public. I’d love to know the story behind this necessity.)
• Endless field trips (Is it possible that the Magic House, the Zoo and the Science Center aren’t open until May?)
• Teacher Appreciation

Then you have the extra-curricular stuff:

• Awards banquets (at which food is seldom served, so why call it a banquet?)
• End of the year Boy Scout picnics (at which food IS served, and you wish it wasn’t)
• Mother’s Day (a day of rest and relaxation — NOT!)
• Memorial Day (which used to happen AFTER school was out, but this year, Rockwood managed to START school in the middle of August, earlier than EVER before, and end AFTER Memorial Day, later than I ever remember. I am personally a huge proponent of starting school AFTER Labor Day, but that’s for another post).

So, I’m ready for summer, but not really. I don’t have a “plan” yet, which means I need structure of some kind but I haven’t figured out what form that structure is going to take. Thus, I’ve got one more thing to add to the Mayathon – write my summer plan!

Bothered by Correspondence from the School

I received a letter in the mail today from my daughter’s middle school that really bothered me.  Here is the text of the body of the letter in italics and my thoughts on each section:

Our records indicate that your child has been absent 5 excused days this semester. 

Note the word “excused.” She missed three days for her participation in swim meets and two other days for family travel or  illness.  This is a kid who attends swim practice six to eight times per week, sometimes getting up for 5:30 a.m. practices before school and then returning to the pool for 5 p.m. practices after school. This is a kid who has time management skills that some college students haven’t achieved. This is the same kid who voluntarily stayed after school a few weeks ago to do an algebra review with her teacher because she was going to miss the in-class review due to an out-of-town swim meet.

Regular attendance is a significant factor in student acheivement and success at school. As you know, your child needs to be in the classroom to benefit from daily instruction. Research has continually shown the correlation between attendance, achievement and student learning. 

Really? My daughter has been recognized all three years in middle school for having a 4.0 GPA at the end of the first semester — including this year. She takes all challenge courses and is in an advanced/compacted language arts course. The lowest GPA she has achieved for any given quarter is 3.75.  Her standardized test scores typically land her in 99th percentile in language arts and in the high 90’s in all the other subjects. She took the ACT last year as a 7th-grader and scored a 21 without having had any high school language, math or science courses.  I am not worried about her achievement or student learning — at least not at this point in her education.

We do realize that student illness and family emergencies may prevent a child from attending school. However, we want to make you aware of the number of school days that your child has missed.

My understanding of district policy is that the absences wouldn’t have been marked as “excused” if I hadn’t contacted the school about them. Therefore, of course I AM AWARE of the days she has missed. So why was the letter really sent?

Rockwood School District Policy states that any absence in excess of eight days in one semester will require further home/school communications. This is initiated through our district social worker. Our district social worker can provide a variety of resources and assistance as necessary.

Is the school REALLY threatening the intervention of a social worker for a straight-A student who has never had any discipline problems at school, who is recognized for her grades and other school achievements, and who certainly contributes in a positive way to the school’s averages on the standardized tests? And what are these resources and assistance that she might need? Perhaps they could be utilized by a student who needs them?

We appreciate your support as we work together for your child’s education. If you have any questions, please call the school office . .

cc. Student File

cc. Counselor

I love the cc info at the end! In other words: “This is going in YOUR FILE!”

I promptly fired off an email to the school’s administrators. The gist of that email was what I wrote above, plus this:

“We certainly value her education and place a high priority on school. But we also think learning to manage her time in such a way that she can maintain a 3.8 to 4.0 GPA and still spend 12 to 16 hours a week in the pool is a good life skill.”